Halloween Prank Gone Wrong
by thewizardanthedragon
Summary: CJ wants to pull off a big Halloween Prank but things go terribly wrong.     WARNING- Contains spanking of minor in later chapters as well as mild language - Don't like, Don't read
1. Chapter 1

Seventh Grade was very different than CJ had experienced school to date. The school CJ attended went all the way to grade 8 but the middle school classes were on a rotation. CJ liked the idea of being in a different class with a different teacher every 45 minutes. Multiple classrooms with multiple teachers meant many opportunities to pull pranks and have many suspects who would have been in the classroom.

It was only mid October and CJ had been able to set up a few pranks that she found particularly funny and to date none of them had been linked to her. Over the past 6 weeks she had replaced the photocopier toner cartridge with an empty one at the end of everyday and place the full cartridge back in the box that had been in the recycle bin. Although her favourite was still in effect; she had put her homeroom printer colour cartridges in the printer in the wrong slots. So every time someone printed the colours were all mixed up. Her homeroom teacher had tried to fix it and when she was unsuccessful she called in the school IT guy, and he couldn't fix it. It wasn't a problem they thought of and CJ enjoyed that fact immensely.

Halloween was fast approaching and she was trying to figure out what she could do. She didn't want to target her homeroom as she felt suspicion would start to move in her direction. The science lab was very Halloween'ish'.

CJ needed to do a bit of research. And lucky for her she had a wonderful Halloween loving lab rat that could help out. That afternoon CJ went to NCIS headquarters after school to begin the research. She stopped by the bullpen and dropped off her bag on her way through. As the elevator door opened CJ could hear the entire team talking with Abby. Her stomach did a flip flop as she realized that she didn't really have an excuse to be here that was legitimate. Quickly she decided that she needed to talk to Abby about a 'science fair' project, that way she could ask lots of questions and not raise suspicions.

She exited the elevator and walked into Abby's lab quietly waiting to see if anyone noticed her. She liked to see if she could enter rooms without drawing attention to herself. It was a skill both her mother and Uncle Gibbs had and seemed to be rather useful. Unfortunately she was only 2 paces in before everyone turned and greeted her with a smiles and / or waves.


	2. Chapter 2

The team quickly finished their discussion about whatever case it was they were working on and headed out of the lab. CJ tried to look nonchalant with her hands in her back pockets bouncing on her toes as she often did when having to stand still.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Abbs I thought you could help me, I have a science project I need to do and I can't come up with an idea"

"OOOOO… that does sound like fun… any parameters we need to stick to"

"It has to involve an experiment of some sort and needs to use only things that are available at the school, but otherwise we're good"

Abby started rhyming off different experiments and as the list grew and CJ raced to keep up with writing them all down. She made sure to ask about different chemicals that she had seen in the classroom and what they did. The discussion lasted about 30 minutes and was very fruitful indeed. She had enough information now for 'several' pranks.

CJ spent the next week casing the science room storage cupboard. Surreptitiously making a list of what was available. The only thing that had any bang, mess or 'fun' associated with it would be potassium metal. Now to get it out of the classroom… CJ purposely left her backpack in the science lab after her lessons. During afternoon recess she waited by her locker with the door open so that she could quickly put the contraband in when she retrieved it. As soon as Mr. Graham left the room CJ quickly slipped into the lab and went directly to the cupboard, grabbed a fist sized chunk of potassium metal in a bandana she had stuffed in her pocket. Seconds later she was stuffing the bandana wrapped metal in her purposely forgotten school bag and was about to leave the room as Mr. Graham returned. He smiled and asked "Is there something I can help you with Miss DiNozzo?" "No sir, I just forgot my backpack and it has my homework for English class in it" CJ lied. Uncle Gibbs rule number 7, always be specific when you lie CJ thought.

CJ quickly hid the 'package' at the back of her locker ready for tomorrows plan.

Potassium metal and water - explosion


	3. Chapter 3

CJ was finding it hard to sleep. Tomorrow was Halloween which she loved and the plan for the 'big' prank was ready. Before going to bed she had taken some tissue paper from the bin in the basement and she had paid attention to Mr. Graham's schedule. The best time to set it up would be when she first got to the school in the morning.

Ziva noticed that her daughter was a little jumpy but knowing that Halloween was CJ's favourite time of year she chalked it up to excitement. CJ consumed her freshly squeezed orange juice and oatmeal quickly and rushed off to meet Steven to walk to school. CJ had decided that it would best if Steven didn't know what was going on… he wasn't very good at keeping secrets and she didn't want him to get into trouble if they happened to get caught.

Once they arrived to school CJ made and excuse that she needed to use the restroom and quickly ran into the school through the side door. Swiftly CJ scouted the hall, it was empty and the only noises could be heard from the woodworking shop, Mr. K. was in there working. CJ slipped past the open door and making sure she wasn't noticed sneaking into the lab. She filled the sink half full with water. Then CJ took out the potassium metal and wrapped it in only one layer of tissue paper with a small tear, she tied the top with ribbon and tied the package to the tap above the sink and ran quickly out of the room. Returning to the school yard she met up with Steven. She had been quick enough that Steven didn't question the length of time it took her to use the restroom.

The explosion could be heard through the entire middle school wing, in the office and in the play yard. It scared CJ; she hadn't expected it to be that loud. Since classes hadn't yet begun the students approached from the yard and the teachers ran from the staff lounge to find the sink in the middle of the classroom torn apart and shrapnel spread around the room. CJ made sure she wasn't one of the first at the window but when she finally had a turn to peer into the cracked pane she almost vomited. She hadn't realized that the explosion would be THAT 'big'. The bell rang and the kids all filed into the school as usual, but with increased hype. Everyone was discussing who had pulled such a prank. The teachers all tried to escort their students into their classes and settle things down. CJ still couldn't breathe. She sat in her desk, numb.

As soon as the initial commotion settled down the principal made an announcement over the PA system for all grade 7 and 8 teachers to escort their classes to the gymnasium for an impromptu assembly. Steven stayed at CJ's side rambling on; she couldn't even tell him to shut up. She walked within the flow of kids on their way to the gym. Mr. Thompson, the principle, stood on the stage at the front of the gym and waited until the congregation became completely silent. Mr. Thompson addressed the silent crowd. CJ heard almost none of it. She couldn't figure out what she was going to do. And then Mr. Thompson concluded his speech by saying "The people or person who is responsible for this serious occurrence have until lunch time today to come forward before I contact the authorities".

As the kids filed out of the gym Steven started his rambling again. It wasn't until they were most of the way back to homeroom before he noticed CJ's stone faced expression and robotic gait. Steven had known CJ long enough to realize she knew something about the 'serious occurrence' from that morning. Steven stopped dead in his tracks "CJ what did you do?" now he started to be unable to breathe.

"Shut up Steven… I need time to think"

"Think… think… there is nothing to think about CJ… you need to turn yourself in… you don't want them calling anyone about this… 'cause if you think you're in trouble now … if the police get involved you're more than dead…" Steven's voice was getting louder and more shrill.

CJ snapped out of the trance she'd been in since she'd heard the explosion. She grabbed Steven's arm and pulled him into the girls' restroom. Sputtering he tried to fight her but decided it was better if she wasn't alone. He stood leaning against the sink while CJ paced back and forth.

Uncharacteristically Steven was the calmer of the two kids. He tried in vain to talk CJ down, but since this was new territory for him he was unfamiliar with what was appropriate to say. He recalled a time last year when he was panicking about being in trouble and CJ had grabbed his shoulders and shook him. He placed himself in her path and took hold of her shirt with both hands, she had been moving so quickly that she almost knocked him over; he had to brace himself to keep from toppling to the floor. She stopped moving and he saw tears in her eyes and blood coming out of the side of her mouth where she had been chewing her lip so badly it had begun to bleed.

Steven pushed CJ back towards the wall and helped her to sit down leaning against the radiator. He turned and sat beside her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders that heaved as she cried. Steven had NEVER seen her cry, NEVER. He had nothing to do with this mess but felt scared none the less. His fear prompted anger he didn't know he had him. "CJ, knock it off, crying isn't going to help you right NOW… what are you going to do now?" Utterly surprised by Steven's forcefulness CJ stopped crying and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thanks Steven, could you go get Mr. Richardson please?" He looked at her quizzically, but stood to go look for their current math teacher and last year's classroom teacher.

CJ knew as soon as she heard the blast that she would need to come forward but until Steven had brought her back to reality she wasn't sure how to do that. As she sat in the bathroom panicking she realized that she needed someone on her side. The only teacher who she had ever trusted or respected was Mr. Richardson. He would be furious, but would appreciate her turning herself in and would be able to help guide her through the next few hours of 'unpleasantness'. She kept her head down resting on her knees until she heard footsteps in front of her. Slowly she looked through the top of her eyes to see Mr. Richardson crouched down in front of her and Steven standing by the door.

"Thank you Mr. Arnott, I can take it from here, please return to your class."

William Richardson turned and sat mirroring CJ's position beside her. He sat quietly watching her stare off into a nonexistent horizon. He already knew why he was here; he was just waiting for CJ to admit she had been responsible for the science lab prank gone bad. He'd spent all last year trying to understand this unusual kid and hadn't really come to any big conclusions. She was bright and had a flare for getting herself into trouble was all he had decided. Although this particular prank was well above her usual tactics, her hiding in the lavatory frightened suggests it went further than she had expected.

After several minutes of silence CJ shifted to turn towards her teacher meeting his gaze. His eyes although serious were not furious as she had expected them to be. "I did it" she whispered so quietly he only realized what she said by reading her lips.

"Hummm" he responded without moving or dropping his gaze.

She dropped her head back down on her arms that were wrapped around her legs.

Mr. Richardson realizing that CJ was not going to be any more forthcoming with information decided he needed to get some before taking her to the principal's office.

"How did you blow up the lab CJ?" his tone was neither angry nor demanding yet it left no question that he intended it to be answered immediately and truthfully.

Slowly and quietly CJ recounted the planning and execution of the prank. He didn't want to be but he was impressed with how methodical her planning and understanding of the science behind the idea. Her only 'mistake' was her miscalculation of how much potassium metal was needed to get a reasonable bang for a prank versus the amount she used that created an explosion.

"C'mon CJ we need to go to Mr. Thompson's office he's waiting for us" he was surprised by the look she gave him. CJ was beyond a doubt scared. Mr. Richardson thought that CJ didn't even know how to portray that particular emotion. Her tough exterior had never been cracked until now. He stood and extended a hand to CJ and helped her stand. He placed a hand on her shoulder and physically directed her towards the door and down the hall to the office. Mr. Richardson knocked on the principal's door and walked in without waiting for an answer. CJ put on the breaks. She had finally calmed down enough to start to register just how much trouble she was in. Her fear until now was about 'what could have happened'… now it was what was going to happen to her.


	4. Chapter 4

Mr. Thompson looked up from his desk as his uninvited guests entered. Examining the expressions of the student and teacher he made the magic leap that they had found their culprit. His relief must have crossed his face as CJ began breathing again. "CJ has a story to tell you Mr. Thompson" Richardson prompted.

CJ looked longingly at her teacher hoping that he would recall the story she had already explained to him. Richardson shook his head and tilted towards the principal. CJ recounted her actions with a lot less details as it was easier that way. As her story came to an end Mr. Thompson was already rifling through his filing cabinet for CJ's student file. Seconds later he was on the phone with her father.

"Hello, Mr. DiNozzo?"

…

"Mr. Thompson here, the principal of Jefferson Middle School"

…

"I need you and your wife to come in to discuss your daughter CJ's actions"

…

"The sooner the better"

…

"Thank you Mr. DiNozzo, we will see you in about 20 minutes"

He hung up and turned to Mr. Richardson "You can return to your class now" CJ began to protest but Mr. Richardson who had not removed his hand from her shoulder squeezed hard to stop her. He gave a nod and left the room.

"CJ please go sit in the outer office with the secretary until your parents arrive."

CJ could barely move and breathing really was something she was now doing deliberately rather than naturally. CJ sat stock still, a rarity for her, again staring off towards nothing. Her mind was racing. She did not want to have to tell the story again. And she really didn't want to have to tell the story to her parents. Her dad might understand what she was trying to do, but her mother was not going to be quite so understanding. Who was she kidding she was dead meat, she wasn't going sit down for a week…. no a month.

The clock on the wall suggested she had only been sitting there for 14 minutes when her parents strode through the front door of the school. Ziva must have driven. Before they came into the office area CJ pulled her feet up onto the chair and hugged them tightly to her chest. She lowered her head onto her knees and hoped that they wouldn't start to yell here. Tony introduced himself and Ziva to the secretary who immediately directed them into the principal's proper office. CJ didn't chance to look at them as the walked past her.

Tony having been in a similar situation to his daughter's current predicament knew how she was feeling. He was having a hard time being as irate as his wife was right now. And knowing what was about to transpire he wasn't looking forward to his own situation. Being the parent of the miscreant wasn't easy either.

They were in there for what felt like a long time. She was trying to listen but she could only hear voices but not what they were saying. Although she didn't' know why she was trying because she REALLY didn't want to know. The secretary kept looking at her sideways glaring whenever CJ caught her eye.

The office door flung open and her parents exited in a flurry with Mr. Thompson close behind. None of them addressed CJ as they flew past and out into the hall. Confused CJ followed them with her eyes. The secretary who had remained silent until now declared "They're going to look at the science lab".

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit… things could get worse she thought frantically. Once they had actually seen the room there would be no way of downplaying how bad it actually was. CJ resumed her curled up position on the chair and tried to wish her way out of this mess. This was the worst Halloween ever.

As the trio returned to the office Ziva grabbed CJ's shirt by the left shoulder and lifted her to her feet pushing her into the principal's office. She didn't have an opportunity to protest, fight or escape before the door to the office was slammed shut. Standing in front of the principal's desk flanked on either side by her parents CJ waited for the pronouncement of her sentence. She understood that what happened here sort of translated into how serious a sentence would be meted out at home.

Mr. Thompson's words washed over her as he explained the seriousness of her actions, that they were all disappointed in her behavior and that her actions caused grave damage to the science lab that would be out of commission for several weeks while it was repaired.

"Your parents and I have come to the agreement that you will be both paddled and suspended for the rest of this week and next as punishment for your actions." Mr. Thompson declared. There it was: the sentence. Pretty much what she was anticipating to hear from him after everything she'd done. She kept silent and still waiting for instructions. It only took a few moments before her mother turned and stormed out of the room. Tony patted his daughter on the back as he followed his wife at a much slower pace.

Again Tony although extremely horrified by the look of the lab felt for the situation his daughter had landed herself in. Gibbs was right; she was his daughter through and through. He wanted his daughter to know he supported her even though he agreed with the punishment she was about to receive.

The door clicked closed behind her retreating father and she quickly stood a little straighter. Mr. Thompson removed his jacket and hung it over the back of his chair. Using his left hand he unbuttoned his cuff and began to roll up his sleeve. CJ continued to stare straight ahead but could see every one of his movements in her peripheral vision. Her heart rate started to rise as she watched him prepare to paddle her. Her lip began to bleed a new as she continued to bite down in hopes of keeping control of herself. Mr. Thompson picked up the offending paddle that had been leaning against the side of the desk. She hadn't seen it until he picked it up and moved towards her. Standing to her left he patted the paddle in his left hand as he ordered her to assume the position. CJ bent over grasping the end of the desk with both hands. "Do not move or stand until I tell you, do you understand Miss DiNozzo"

"Yes sir" she spit out.

She quickly changed from biting her lip to gritting her teeth before the first lick fell in hopes of keeping quiet. The paddle made contact and the resounding smack startled her as much as the pain of it did. Mr. Thompson sure did know how to use his chosen weapon. Several more swats landed hard on her ass before a painful groan escaped through her gritted teeth. Again he applied a flurry of swats and her knuckles were whiter than a ghost as she seized the desk with all her might. Tears were falling freely and CJ was making strangled cries with each of the next 3 swats. CJ always counted the swats in her head to help her concentrate on not reacting and they were already at 12. The next 2 landed and she actually didn't pay as much attention because she couldn't believe that at school where 4 was the maximum number of swats allowed to be administered by staff they had gotten to 12. She knew the principal would have gotten permission to go over the 4 maximum but how many over was what she was now curious about. When the 15th swat landed CJ couldn't ignore the absolutely ferocity with which it landed. Her loss in concentration a moment earlier meant she lost control and began to cry openly.

Mr. Thompson set down the paddle against the desk, rolled his sleeve back into place and put his jacket back on. It wasn't until he was sitting back in his chair that he instructed CJ to stand. Using her sleeve she wiped away her tears as she stood stiffly trying to regain composure.

CJ you are free to go, we will see you back on the 11th of November Miss DiNozzo. Make sure you use some of your time off to think about what could have happened if someone had been in the lab when the explosion occurred.

CJ turned on her heel military style and strode as naturally as she could muster out of the office and right through the outer office into the hall way. Her parents had gotten her backpack from someone and as a trio they exited through the school's front doors to the parking lot. CJ allowed her parents to overtake her pace so that they headed to the car first.

CJ had screwed up many times in the past and had been in the situation where she was going home for a sound whipping, but never before had she felt like running away and waiting for things to blow over or cool down before facing the music. This time however those thoughts raced through her head all that stopped her was she couldn't figure out where to hide for long enough for people to calm down enough.


	5. Chapter 5

The drive home was a silent one. When they pulled into the driveway Tony turned to his daughter and explained that she was to go into the house, go to her room and wait until the end of the day. He and Ziva were returning to work and would be home at their usual time. CJ followed through on the instructions and for the first time all morning actually paid attention to what time it read on the clock. It was only 10:00 am. The earliest her parents generally made it home was 7:30… this was going to be a long day.

Throwing her backpack to the side and flopping on the bed she began to cry in earnest. She hadn't meant for things to go as they had. Although some tears were shed because of her impending doom most were simply releasing the tension and stress that had been accumulating over the past 2 hours.

She was rummaging through her night stand to find her ipod when she thought she heard the front door open and close. She took a few more moments to find her ear buds and began to put them on when her bedroom door opened and her Uncle Gibbs was leaning against the door frame. He was definitely not the person she wanted to see right now and laughed at herself for thinking that after the stunt she'd pulled her parents would have left her alone all day.

Gibbs simply stood there staring. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. From the look on his face he already knew the whole story.

"Gimme that" pointing at her ipod and calling her towards him with his pointer finger. "You're going to spend the day thinking, not getting lost in your music." He waited still leaning on the door frame as he held out his hand. She came towards him with her hand outstretched and dumped her ipod into it. He closed the door in the same motion as he walked away.

Exhaling CJ fell onto her bed and bounced back to standing quickly. Her butt was hurting sitting, even on a squishy bed. Turning around and falling face first onto the bed she laid there stewing.

Was her Uncle here for more than just "protection detail"? Was he going to sit downstairs all day while she lay on her bed or was he going to … deal with the situation? The longer she lay there the madder she got. She had no right to be mad but that didn't seem to come into play.

When Gibbs returned to tell her lunch was ready he found her sprawled across the bed snoring. The emotional rollercoaster of the last day had caught up with her. He decided to leave her sleeping as she probably would need the rest more than the food. He sat watching her from the door way. She was definitely a good mix of DiNozzo and David. The idea of pulling such a prank was definitely a Tony trait the planning, organization and implementation was definitely David. Genetics was the only way an 11 year old, who was 2 months shy of her 12th birthday, could actually pull off what she had this morning. CJ had turned herself in, if she hadn't they may not have figured out who had done it.

For all the trouble she caused he was actually proud of a bunch of things that she had done. Turning herself in was very responsible and more than a lot of 12 year olds would have done. Researching the chemicals available in the science lab and setting up the system with the tissue paper he had seen crime scenes that hadn't been planned out as well. He left her sleeping and went back down to the kitchen to read the newspaper. Still she was in for one h**l of a ride when Tony and Ziva got home.

When CJ roused she rubbed her eyes and rolled over. Until her backside touched the bed she was truly hoping that the memory she had was all a bad dream. No such luck. This meant that Gibbs was still downstairs, her parents were coming home to kill her later and she was suspended from school for the next couple of weeks. Things were not looking good.

CJ hadn't eaten much of her breakfast as she was too excited but now was very hungry. She chanced the adventure to the kitchen to get something to appease the growling monster in her stomach. Gibbs didn't even look up from his paper when she entered the room. She surveyed the room and saw the plate with a sandwich and a glass of juice sitting at her spot at the table. She sidled over and quietly began eating. "Sit down while you're eating CJ" Huffing she gently lowered herself, sucking in through gritted teeth as she made contact with the wooden kitchen chair. She ate in silence occasionally looking at the back side of the paper he was reading. Gibbs didn't move not even to turn the page. As she finished her last bite he folded the paper and set it on the table and crossed his arms across his chest. CJ's mouth when dry and she was unable to swallow her last bite of her sandwich without having a sip of her juice. How could a man she loved and respected look so frightening? Again she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Sit, talk or go back to her room. She decided that doing nothing was the best course of action.

They sat for a very long time glaring at each other before Gibbs gently asked "What were you actually expecting?"

"Expecting?" she answered hesitantly.

"Ya… expecting… I am pretty sure that what happened today wasn't what you were expecting" he said again with gentleness in his voice that his eyes did not reflect.

CJ relaxed slightly. "Not what happened, that's for sure" looking down at the table.

"I knew that when the potassium metal hit the water it would explode but I thought it would just make a loud noise and spray the water around a bit. The idea was to scare Mr. Graham and make a bit of mess that people would talk about. Have a bit of a laugh… Uncle Gibbs I really didn't know that it could turn the sink into … a … heap of metal and wooden splinters... I know what I'm about to say won't change the outcome of any further conversations but I want someone to hear it anyway"

Gibbs nodded to encourage her to continue.

"I feel really really bad, I am SO sorry that it happened, if I could I would take it all back."

"I'm sure you would" Gibbs responded with a smirk and a suppressed laugh. "You'd better go back to your room because I told your father I wouldn't let you out."

CJ pushed her chair away from the table as she stood and went back to her room to wait and Gibbs returned to reading his paper.

Hours passed and neither left their posts. CJ's boredom led to her going through several panic attacks until she remembered her old MP3 player at the back of her desk drawer. Anything to keep her mind occupied and not replaying the picture of the science lab through the broken window she saw this morning. It felt like a lifetime ago.

The front door opened and closed. CJ was none the wiser was she had her music turned up and jumped when Gibbs appeared at the door. He tore the ear buds out of her ears in frustration shaking his head. "Goodbye CJ, I'll see you in the morning." She was confused as to why she would see him in the morning but embarrassedly waved goodbye.

CJ listened to the movements of everyone downstairs. Ziva moved with Gibbs to the front door and spoke to him before latching the door and returning to the living room where Tony was pacing. They talked quietly and both moved quietly up the stairs and then stood for a few moments outside her door.

All day CJ had been waiting for this moment imagining how bad it was going to be, at least now it would soon be over.

The knob turning ever so slowly reminded CJ of horror flicks she watched with her father. The thought actually made her smile, which was sort of unfortunate as when her parents walked into the room she had that stupid grin still on her face. Poor timing.

Both Ziva and Tony stood in the middle of her room. The anger in the room was palpable. It was Ziva who started talking, CJ knew her mother could get very angry, there were many stories about it but she hadn't really experienced it until this very moment. She was yelling, almost hysterical really. CJ just nodded at appropriate times. Uncharacteristically her father just stood off to the side and stayed quiet, his gaze shifting from his wife to his daughter. He saw something he had never seen in all his years of working with Ziva, her anger came from a place of fear. Tony and his daughter stood quietly waiting for Ziva to yell herself out. When she finally became quiet, CJ whispered "I'm real sorry mama" close to tears. "You will be when your father's through with you" Ziva declared under her breath storming out of the room and slamming the door as left.

"CJ do you understand everything your mother just said?" With a confused expression she turned to her father and shook her head no. "Not really I think half of that conversation wasn't even in English" they shared a knowing smile. "You get the general idea though … RIGHT." he returned to being serious.

"You know what's goin' happen, right?" Tony said with far more gentleness and caring than CJ was expecting or even felt she deserved.


	6. Chapter 6

CJ remained standing with her hands in her back pockets, staring at her father. Tony's hands went to his buckle and began to undo it. CJ still didn't move. Her eyes didn't even follow her father's movements she didn't need to see what was going on to know. He slid the belt out its loops and folded it in half into his right hand holding the buckle tightly. With his left hand he moved the desk chair so that its back was against the wall. "CJ take down your jeans and bend over the chair" Breathing deeply CJ did as she was instructed. Tony took a few seconds to collect himself. His emotions had fluctuated all day. Feeling sorry for CJ as he too had been in similar situations and incredibly angry whenever he pictured the destroyed science lab. He had tried to get out of this particular responsibility, he'd asked Gibbs who refused and thought about asking Ziva until he figured she was far too emotional and was likely to actually kill their daughter.

He took a deep breath before raising his arm and bringing down the belt with enough strength to cause CJ to gasp and jump up. It hurt, way more than it usually did when her father punished her, and this was going to be a long procedure. "Back down CJ" Tony said annoyed. Again with a deep breath she bent back over the chair and gritted her teeth. This time he placed his left hand in the middle of her back and applied enough pressure that she wouldn't be able to stand without a lot of effort. As the blows rained down, CJ tried very hard to 'take it' without moving or a lot of noise but was not having a lot of success. The paddling from Mr. Thompson and her father's obvious increased vigor in the application of the belt made it next to impossible. Tony paused only for a few seconds when he realized he hadn't heard his daughter breathing but then continued the whipping in earnest when CJ loudly inhaled.

Tony made sure that the belt landed repeated on every inch of her backside. He had never been so methodical or heavy handed in the past. By the time he replaced his belt around his waist CJ was sobbing, breathing raggedly and visibly shaking. He took her by the shoulders and helped into a standing position. CJ pulled her jeans up more for something to do than out of embarrassment or modesty. Tony waited until CJ was organized before drawing her to him. He hugged her while she cried on his shoulder. She cried for a lot longer than she had in the past but that was to be expected. The emotional release was probably larger than anything she'd had to deal with as well. "You ok peanut?"

"Ya boss" she tried to smile which was difficult as her lip was bleeding again as she'd bitten it to stop from yelling.

"Go have a shower, get cleaned up and come down for supper"

CJ spent a long time in the shower, long enough that the water started to feel cool. She tried very hard not to turn and look at her own ass. But the temptation was too great although once she saw the angry redness she realized that was a bad idea. She was not going to be sitting for quite a while. She got dressed in a pair of sweats, tied her long hair back out of her face and stiffly made her way down the stairs to the kitchen.

She found her parents unpacking take out onto the table. They ate in relative silence, Tony and Ziva sitting and CJ leaning against the counter while she ate. She helped her mother clean up the card board boxes after her father had gone into the living room to set up a movie.

Her mother was the only person who CJ did not feel had fully forgiven her for her screw up and CJ needed that to get rid of the last bit of guilt sitting in the pit of her stomach. While they stood at the counter finishing the tidy up CJ cautiously approached her mom. "Mama, I didn't mean for it to go so badly."

Cradling her daughter's chin in her hand Ziva whispered so that only CJ would be able to hear her "CJ in life YOU will mess up and occasionally YOU will take a licking….but then you get on with it…" waiting until she saw understanding in the eyes looking back at her before letting go of CJ's chin. "we're at the getting on with it stage" she said walking away


End file.
